ECB set to drop the idea of 10-ball over in their new ‘Hundred’ competition

Players warned ECB that the fast bowlers won't be able to bowl a 10-ball over at full speed.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have been told to reconsider about the gimmick of a 10-ball over in their controversial new ‘Hundred’ competition, expected to be held in 2020. The players union have warned ECB by stating that the fast bowlers won’t be able to bowl a 10-ball over at full throttle.

According to Sportsmail, a delegation led by Worcestershire batsman Daryl Mitchell told ECB that the 10-ball over which was supposed to be bowled at the end of an innings will not work practically.

“There’s certainly strong opinion among the players that there shouldn’t be a 10-ball over. People who are going to bowl at the death are concerned about that because of the physical demands and mental well-being. I don’t think it would be possible to ask, say, Tymal Mills to bowl a 10 ball over at 92-93 miles per hour, especially if you throw in the odd wide or no ball,” Mitchell quoted as saying by Sportsmail.

“Then it becomes 12 or 13 balls and I don’t think that’s good for the game as well as the bowler. You want the genuine quick bowlers to come steaming in because that’s what people want to see and six balls is enough for them,” he added.

Other ideas were also discussed during the meeting between six players from different parts of the country and ECB’s ‘Hundred’ blue-sky thinking marketers.

“From what I hear I don’t think they want to go too far away from cricket now. So they don’t want 20 five ball overs. Maybe we could have eight-ball overs at the start and end of an innings to make up the hundred while another idea we discussed was for the captain to be able to call time on an over after four balls,” Mitchell said while hinting a change in ECB’s plan.

“If then, say, Jos Buttler starts hitting someone all over the park the captain will be able to call a halt after four balls. That might add a tactical dimension but it’s probably not simplifying the game. There’s not really an easy way to get to a hundred balls and the fact it’s not divisible by six does cause a problem,” he explained.

When asked if England’s 400 plus professional players are comfortable with this new concept, Mitchell said: “It’s very difficult for us to say whether we like the idea or not when we still don’t know what it’s going to look like.”

“The momentum is turning in a positive direction but there are very much a number of sceptics among our members too. The new competition needs us on board because it needs to fly and do very well. When the next broadcast deal comes around we have to have a vibrant domestic product as well as an England team that’s doing very well,” he further elaborated.

The £1.1 billion five-year broadcasting deal, which starts in two years time, has enabled the ECB to promise counties an extra £1.3million a year if they support this novel concept.

The Player’s Association recently put out a statement opposing proposed attempts by the ECB to avoid increasing county wages.

“We put out a strong statement earlier this month and it was purposefully. That statement was in response to the suggestion from county chief executives that the salary cap was not going to go up. From our point of view that is not acceptable with the money coming into the game,” Daryl Mitchell said.

“It’s not how we feel things should be done. It’s one of our non-negotiables. It was very justifiable for us to put that out and nothing that we hadn’t already told the ECB but I do believe they are receptive to our point of view and it will be resolved eventually. Nobody wants a repeat of the Australian pay dispute in our cricket,” he concluded.